Your Truth is Out There (Find Your Truth Book 1) (19 page)

“You said it yourself, too much knowledge is a dangerous thing. With one painting, we know too much about your plans for you to allow us to live. But, if the job is already complete and your involvement is virtually non-existent, then what reason do you have for harming us?”

“You still have knowledge of us and our whereabouts.”

“But no knowledge or proof of any crime.”

Ricnor eyed Gsefx warily.

“Okay, we’ll assume that’s good enough—for now at least,” he said. “But what makes you think you’re any more qualified to obtain the paintings than I am, or any of my crew? After all, we’ve actually done this type of job before and I’m assuming you haven’t.”

“True enough, I haven’t done anything like this before. But I have been to Earth before. I’ve actually seen the paintings and I have a pretty good idea who I’ll be dealing with when I arrive. I can’t say for sure, but I’m guessing that neither you nor any of your associates can say the same.”

Ricnor said nothing.

“Oh, and one other thing, Et Ricnor, instead of currently being dead like you expected, I’m quite alive, with the two associates you sent to kill me subdued and restrained. I’m in control of your vehicle and your weapons stash. So, no, I don’t think you need to worry about the criminal part of the plan.”

At this, Ricnor actually started to laugh—a genuine laugh of mirthful amusement.

“All right accountant, you win. Well, you have my blessing, at least, except for two things. First, you have three rotations, not six. This is no luxury vacation on the beach. You’re on my time, which means you have three rotations to get the job done and deliver the paintings into my hands. Secondly, my associates, as you call them, are free to make their own choices. In our organization, nobody goes on an assignment unless they agree to it. So, if you’d be so kind as to patch them into the conversation, we can ask if they are willing to accompany you to Irt, or Earth, or whatever you call it, and perhaps regain some of their lost self-respect.” Ricnor’s mirthful smile reappearing.

“Not only will I patch them in, I’ll go a step further and unbind them completely,” said Gsefx as he got up from his seat to set his captives free. “But I must have at least five rotations. The job can’t be done properly in less time than that.”

“Do you think I give a clelchin’s fart about proper? Just bring the paintings back and everyone is happy.”

“Let me guess. Your way is to locate the paintings, go in with your obliterators set on maximum, take the paintings, and kill anyone who happens to get in the way, right?”

“Of course. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, I suppose,” said Gsefx as he sat back down in his seat and patched Dilnch and Klarnus into the conversation, “if you don’t mind starting an intergalactic incident and bringing the heat of the Galactic Community Police down on your heads. I suppose that’s no big deal for you and your gang, but for me and mine, it is a much bigger deal.”

“You’re the one who wants in.”

“Only as a means for getting out. Even if I wasn’t involved in any of this, if you had the paintings and let Lhvunsa, Qilzar, and I go on our way, who do you think the GCP would come after first? The last known visitor to Earth, that’s who. Give me five rotations and I’ll slip in and out with the paintings and nobody will even know I was there. You’ll get your paintings and I’ll be free and clear of this entire mess.”

“Four rotations. That’s forty sars and the clock starts now. That’s my final offer, take it or leave it. But we haven’t asked what they think. Klarnus, Dilnch, do you want to go with him, or would you rather just kill him now?”

Both Klarnus and Dilnch’s eyes lit up at the prospect, but it was short lived as Gsefx tossed Dilnch an obliterator.

“Go ahead, give it a try. While you were napping, I added my DNA to all of your weapons. If you’re going to kill me, you’re going to have to find another way, and honestly, I don’t think either of you are up to it. So, what do you say, wanna take a trip to Earth?”

Dilnch tried to fire the obliterator just to make sure Gsefx wasn’t bluffing, then dropped the weapon when it was clear he wasn’t. Both of Ricnor’s thugs nodded glumly, but affirmatively.

Gsefx turned back around to face the vidcon screen, his face set hard toward Ricnor, who seemed even more amused now than before.

“Looks like it’s settled then,” he said. “Forty sars from now you’ll have your paintings and I’ll have my wife and boss back. But I have a couple of conditions of my own, first.”

“I’m listening,” said Ricnor.

“I want to see Lhvunsa and Qilzar, now, before the clock starts.”

“And the second?”

“After I see my wife.”

Ricnor paused, but just for a moment.

“I thought you might ask to see them. To show that I’m not entirely unreasonable, here they are.”

Ricnor’s image moved out of sight and was replaced by Lhvunsa’s. She was a bit disheveled, but did not appear to have been harmed. To Gsefx, she was even more beautiful than the day they’d met.

“Lhvunsa, my love! How are you holding up?”

“Gsefx! I’m okay, but I’m worried about you. They’ve let me listen to the conversation … I know what you’re planning to do … I don’t want you to do it. Just give them the painting. I don’t want you to go back to Earth.”

“Lhvunsa, please try not to worry. You have to be strong for a while longer. I will be back for you. Nothing will stop me from coming back for you. That is my promise. You do you believe me, don’t you? Lhvunsa, say you believe me.”

She nodded her head, but couldn’t speak. At this, Qilzar moved into view and, despite himself, Gsefx felt all of the love and compassion he felt for his wife vanish, replaced with cold outrage.

“Gsefx, I assure you …”

“Save it, Qilzar. You have only one job and that is to make sure nothing happens to her. Do you understand?”

Qilzar started to speak, but apparently thought better of it once he saw the look on Gsefx’s face.

“Yes, I understand,” he said. “If it makes any difference, I am sorry Gsefx.”

“I’ll let you know if it makes a difference in about forty sars. In the meantime, take care of her … and take care of yourself, too.”

Qilzar nodded in acknowledgement and moved away. Ricnor appeared back on the screen.

“Touching, especially your concern for Qilzar,” said Ricnor.

Gsefx said nothing.

“I’m anxiously awaiting your second condition, accountant.”

Gsefx looked back at his former captives, now shipmates, who were sitting uneasily in their chairs. They didn’t appear to be interested in starting a mutiny just yet. He reached over and pushed the button marked privacy and gestured for Ricnor to do the same. When they had both locked their channels into privacy mode, Gsefx spoke very directly and very clearly.

“Ricnor, as you’ve been fond of pointing out, I’m just an accountant. As such, life is, for the most part, little more than a series of business transactions. This arrangement between you and I is currently a business transaction and nothing more. But let me be very clear about one thing. Accounting is just my day job and I’m much more than a simple number cruncher. I’m smarter and more resourceful than you. If anything happens to either my wife or to Qilzar, anything at all, you will find out just how much meaner I am than you or anyone in your entire organization ever thought an accountant from Clangdor could be. When I get back with the paintings, be ready to conclude our transaction by handing them over unharmed.”

“Or?”

“Trust me, Ricnor, you don’t want this to stray outside the confines of a business arrangement and into the personal. That wouldn’t go well for you.”

“Is that supposed to scare me? The idle threats of a being so far out of his league he has no idea I could have him killed while he’s talking to me.”

It was now Gsefx’s turn to laugh.

“I’m assuming you’re referring to Dilnch and Klarnus? Unlikely. You see, in addition to adding my DNA to all of the weapons on board, I also modified my scrambler so that it works on all species, even those who are supposedly “protected.””

Gsefx took his vidcon out of privacy mode long enough to turn on his companion’s screens. As he claimed, both were out cold.

“I put your boys out as soon as you went into privacy mode. They won’t be giving me any trouble and neither will you if you know what’s good for you.”

He flipped his vidcon back to privacy mode.

“If I were you, I’d keep that in mind as you plot to double-cross me—that and how I’ve been one step ahead of you, and the thugs you sent to kill me, this entire night. Just let this play out my way, Ricnor. It will be better for everyone that way. Oh, and one last thing. Don’t call me accountant. My name is Gsefx. You’d do well to remember that.”

Gsefx turned off the vidcon, fired up the ship and set course for planet Earth.

“I do what?” asked General Alcorn, who, as far as Henry could tell, was very close to losing his patience.

“You reach into your cockpit and turn on your radio,” said Henry, using a combination of his voice and hand gestures in an attempt to get the General to catch on by himself. When Alcorn still look confused, Henry forged on.

“Look, never mind. Do you know the song
Rock On My Children
by Ogilvy?”

“Of course,” said Alcorn, throwing Henry a condescending frown. “Unlike some people in this room, I remember when it first came out.”

“Well … Zef played it for me as a way to communicate.”

That got the General’s attention.

“He did what?” cried Alcorn leaping to his feet. “Dear God! That means they’ve probably been listening to us for some time, monitoring our communications and who knows what else. I’ll bet they know all about us by now. It’s only a matter …”

“General please,” said Henry, interrupting Alcorn before he could weave together too many wild scenarios. “Stop thinking like a military man for a second and go back to the story we’re weaving.”

Alcorn paused for a moment, then shook his head.

“All right Henry,” he said with a grimace. “For the sake of argument, we’ll play it your way, for now at least. What makes you think he was just a traveler with engine trouble and not a scout on a fact-finding mission of some sort?”

“Well, first off, if they have, in fact, been monitoring us for any length of time, why in the world would they use a mid-70s rock song to say ‘Hello’? I mean, I like
Rock On, My Children
as much as anyone, but really?”

The General rubbed his chin. “You may have a point there.”

“Secondly, I watched the ship land. It was bucking and lurching from side-to-side so badly, I’m not sure how he even got it on the ground in one piece.

Alcorn conceded that point with a nod.

“Fair enough,” he said.

“And finally, General, and this is key, he only played the song as an afterthought, a last resort after we had both tried to communicate in other ways. He spoke the lyrics first, before he played the music. It really freaked me out at first. He’d been spouting out what sounded to me like gibberish, which I’m sure is what English sounded like to him, then wham, all of the sudden he started quoting lyrics to ‘Rock On My Children.’ It was so surreal. Hey, are you even listening to me?”

Alcorn seemed to have drifted off in his own thoughts, but came quickly back without missing a beat. “What was his demeanor through all of this?”

“He was scared, General,” said Henry. “Just like you or I would be if our plane had landed or our car had broken down somewhere we weren’t expecting.”

“What about weapons? Did he have anything?”

“Nothing I could see. I was the only one with a gun.”

“Yes, about that, what exactly were you doing with a gun out in the middle of nowhere, with all of those paintings?”

Henry closed his good eye and exhaled.
Dammit,
he thought.
I meant to skip over that part.

“Let’s leave that alone for now,” he replied. He raised his hand to deflect Alcorn’s imminent objection. “I’m not hiding anything relevant, General, and I promise not to hold anything back at all, but please, let’s stay focused for now.”

“Fine, but we will be coming back to this,” said Alcorn.

“Of that I’m certain.”

“Okay Henry, you’ve convinced me. Zef was nothing more than a wayward traveler. But that still doesn’t explain or excuse your interference in my operation, and in helping him escape.”

“If I had stepped aside, General, what would you have done? What would have happened to Zef?”

“We would have taken him into custody and …”

“Would he still be in custody today?”

“Well, that’s difficult to say.”

“Not really, it’s actually quite simple. Would Zef still be in custody? Yes or no?”

“You have to understand …”

“Yes or no, General?”

“Yes, Henry. He would very likely still be in custody today.”

“In reality, General, chances are that Zef would never have been released, isn’t that right? Why would we release a captured non-terrestrial, when we could keep it and study it, poke it and prod it, all in the name of scientific research and national security?”

“Now Henry, I wouldn’t go that far.”

“I would. I’m just calling it as I see it, General.”

“All right Henry, I’ve been patient with you and played your little bullshit games, but I’ve had just about enough. You have no idea what you’re talking about and you have absolutely no right to judge.”

“And you, sir, have no right to capture and hold a being who’s just trying to join his family on vacation in Greece!”

The two sat in silence for several minutes, Henry quietly daring the General to defend himself and his country’s policies. The General finally broke the stalemate.

“So,” he said softly, “as the artist, the self-proclaimed seeker of truth, is that the best you could come up with?”

“That’s just reality, General, not truth. But there is a truth, my truth at least, if you’d like to hear it.”

“Sure, why not? We’ve come this far, haven’t we?”

“After Zef finished playing the song, and we were both left wondering what came next in our effort to communicate, he noticed my paintings on the other side of the clearing. He seemed mesmerized and went over to them. We stood together and looked at each of the pieces together. I’ve never seen anyone look at my work as he did. As we reached the last one, I noticed tears in his eyes, and it was then that I discovered my essential truth. That even if I never painted another stroke, I had moved the heart of another being. It may not have been a being of my own species, but it didn’t matter, something I created touched someone, which means that I have lived and my time on this planet hasn’t been for nothing. That is my truth. And that, General, even more than just protecting a wayward traveler, is why I willingly risked my physical well-being to protect Zef. And that is why I am unwilling to press charges against those poor fools who did this to me.”