Your Truth is Out There (Find Your Truth Book 1) (28 page)

Holy crap!
He thought.
I’m flying in a spaceship! In outer-freaking-space! To a totally unknown destination with a creature I barely know. Perhaps I’ve misjudged this entire situation, including Gsefx. I mean, what do I really know about him anyway?

“Gsefx, I realize General Alcorn tried to capture you the last time you were here,” he said, taking a deep breath in an effort to keep panic from overtaking him completely, “but he was just doing his job. He didn’t mean you any real harm. You didn’t have to …”

He was interrupted by laughter coming from the pilot’s seat. Loud, jovial, raucous laughter. The being sitting there may not have been human, but there was no mistaking the sound. A joke had clearly been played, and it had been at Henry’s expense.

“Hey, what’s so damn funny?” asked Henry.

“I am sorry, Henry,” said Gsefx, when he was finally able to control himself. “I couldn’t keep it in any longer. Please forgive me, I haven’t slept in a very long time and this,” he waved two of his arms around wildly, “has all been so difficult. It seemed like a harmless joke to let you think the worst for a little while. It was actually the General’s idea, but it was all meant to be taken as good fun.”

Henry glared at the alien.
Harmless joke? General’s idea? Good fun?

“Gsefx, for the love of everything holy, would you please tell me what in the hell is going on?”

“Yes, of course,” said Gsefx. “But first, let me say that I’m glad to see you think as highly of General Alcorn as I’d hoped you would. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first encountered him, but he appears to be a capable being with both honor and courage and it is good to see that you seem to think so as well.”

Gsefx paused for a moment, his expression turning serious once more.

“He will need to live up to our expectations, and more, if we are all to come through this in one piece,” he said finally.

“General Alcorn is a good man,” said Henry. “Although he’s a little old to be going out on a combat mission. But I suppose he’s capable enough.”

“Let’s hope you’re right. Now, let’s see if I can catch you up on ‘what in the hell is going on’ as you put it. It began shortly after I left you the last time, after my boss and friend, a being named Qilzar, and my wife, Lhvunsa, first saw your painting in the back seat of my vehicle.”

Gsefx went on to recount Lhvunsa’s and Qilzar’s reaction to Henry’s painting and how valuable they both considered it to be. He also told Henry of how Qilzar wanted to go back to Earth right then and there, to get the rest of Henry’s paintings, whether Henry was willing to give them up or not.

“Wait a minute,” said Henry, “you wanted to steal the rest of my paintings from me after I gave you my favorite one?”

“No Henry, not me,” said Gsefx, “and not Lhvunsa either. We wouldn’t even allow Qilzar to discuss it any further. In fact, I forced him to swear to me that he would never bring the subject up again, to anyone, ever.”

Henry sat quietly for a moment, taking in all he had just heard.

“Thank you for that,” he said finally. “Although, I have to admit, it’s rather complimentary for him to make such a fuss over my work.”

“If you find that complimentary, wait until you hear the rest.”

Gsefx then told Henry how he believed Qilzar had betrayed them to the Ricnor gang, leading to Lhvunsa’s abduction. How he’d nearly been killed himself trying to get Henry’s painting from its hiding place, but that he’d overcome his attackers and in the process had gained some small bit of control over the situation.

“It wasn’t much, but it was enough to negotiate my way into leading Ricnor’s expedition to steal your artwork, which gave me a chance to warn you and keep you safe. My hope is that I’d be able to find a way to save my Lhvunsa, and even Qilzar, too.”

“All of this over my art,” said Henry, more than a little dumbfounded. “That’s crazy. No one has ever even given my work a second glance before, well, no one on Earth anyway.”

“It’s often the case that an artist’s own people are the last to see their worth. Or perhaps it was just a matter of not being seen by the right people. Whatever the case, Henry, your art is truly masterful. I wasn’t paying close enough attention when you first gave me the painting because I was so touched by the gesture, but your paintings are worth a fortune. Ricnor will stop at nothing to get his hands on them.”

“Unbelievable,” said Henry, half under his breath. “Too bad Lucy can’t see me now.”

“Who is Lucy?”

“Huh? Oh, nobody really. She used to be my wife. I guess she still is, technically, although our marriage had been over long before you came to Earth the first time.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Henry.”

“I’m not,” said Henry. He paused for a moment, then continued. “That sounded harsher than I meant it to. I don’t have any ill-will toward Lucy. Not really. Well, not any more, at least. We were just never very good together. I could never be the solid, dependable breadwinner she wanted me to be, and she could never be the free-spirited soul mate who supported my artistic search for truth. We were like oil and water; we just didn’t mix. All we did was disappoint one another.”

Gsefx looked even more tired than he had just minutes before.

“I think I understand,” he said. “Still, I find it sad when those who were once together find that they must part ways.”

“Yeah, it’s sad, I suppose,” said Henry, “even if it was the right thing for both of us.”

Henry sat up straighter in his chair and forced a smile, then reached over and hit Gsefx’s shoulder lightly with the back of his hand.

“On the other hand,” he said, “I wouldn’t have painted any of those paintings if we hadn’t split, and then you and I would never have met.”

“Then I am glad for that, at least,” said Gsefx, his tired look unchanged, “even though it is the paintings that are at the heart of all this trouble.”

“Speaking of that,” said Henry, “how did Alcorn get wrapped up into all of this?”

Gsefx didn’t answer right away, but seemed to be considering how to answer Henry’s question.

“The easiest way to explain it,” he said, at last, “is that I used the painting you gave me as a guide, kind of like a map, and with it was able to track down the location of your other paintings. They were in General Alcorn’s possession.”

“That makes sense,” said Henry, nodding his head, “about Alcorn anyway. I asked him to examine my paintings closely to see if he could find some of the answers he was looking for. That must have been why he had them.”

“Once I realized he had them, I made sure that I not only got the paintings but that I was able to speak with him as well. I had to know you were safe.”

“That was very kind. But it still doesn’t explain why he and his son are now on their way to Ricnor’s headquarters. Clearly you spoke to him, but how did they end up as hostages?”

“Well, that’s where things went off-plan a little,” said Gsefx. “The General and I were discussing how he was going to assist me in freeing you from captivity, when young Theo came in. At that point, I had no choice but to render them both unconscious and take them along, hoping that, with enough time, I could persuade them to help me.”

“What do you mean you had no choice?” Henry suddenly seemed less certain of his friend’s motivations.

“I mean my companions, Klarnus and Dilnch, the two from Ricnor’s gang, would have been just as happy to kill both of the Alcorns and be done with them. In fact, they came very close to killing Theo, as it was. Ricnor’s weapons wouldn’t work on me, so I was safe from them, and I could even exert some control over them, but the General and his son didn’t have that kind of protection, at least not at that point. I didn't have time to think. I just reacted, and rendering them unconscious and taking them with us was the only solution I could come up with.”

“I understand,” said Henry. He didn’t really, but he was willing to let it go for now, in order to hear the rest of the story. Perhaps by hearing more, it would all come together and make sense. “But then, why did you leave them alone to be taken to Ricnor’s headquarters?”

At this, Gsefx smiled and turned back to the ship’s controls.

“I didn’t. General Alcorn chose to go with them.”

“He did what?” Now Henry was really confused. “Why would he do such a thing? And why put his son in such terrible danger?”

“I can’t say for sure why he chose to help me by going with them, but if I had to guess, I would say that it was because of you, Henry.”

“I don’t understand.”

“He said you told him to find his truth and that he intended to do just that, by helping me rescue Lhvunsa.”

“He told me that he’d already found his truth.”

“Yes,” said Gsefx, “he asked me to tell you that he is sorry for lying. He was wrong to do so, even though he felt it was necessary at the time. But he also wanted you to know that even though he doesn’t really understand art, it was your paintings that led him to this decision.”

“How’s that?”

“I don’t know, Henry. Let’s hope we meet up with him again so he can explain it to both of us. I can tell you that before we parted ways, Theo wanted to see your paintings. According to his father, he is some kind of expert on art.”

“Did you show them to him?”

“Yes, but only briefly. We didn’t have much time. We couldn’t keep Klarnus and Dilnch knocked out indefinitely, and we still had a lot left to do.”

Gsefx turned toward Henry, ensuring he had his full attention.

“Henry,” he said, “Theo was astonished at what he saw in your paintings. Though, I’m unfamiliar with your people, I’ve never seen anyone react like that to art before. It was almost as if he were seeing inside of it, and reading it, like it was a book or something. It was like he could see you in your paintings. Even in the short time he had.”

Henry listened intently to his friend, but could not find the words to speak.

“After that,” said Gsefx, “no amount of arguments by his father could persuade Theo to return to Earth with me. He had made his decision to accompany the General to Ricnor’s headquarters, and that was final.”

“So what happened next?” asked Henry. “Why are you here and not there with them?”

Gsefx looked back at the ship’s console.

“If I haven’t said it already,” he said as he nonchalantly turned a dial and pushed a couple of nondescript buttons, “I am truly grateful for the General’s willingness to help, particularly since there is no real reason why he should put his life and that of his son’s in danger on my behalf.”

He turned his attention to Henry again.

“But I am more indebted to him for his insight, and that of his son’s. They have put me on a track that might make all the difference to the whole situation.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“The more I told Alcorn about Ricnor and the whole situation, the more curious he became about Ricnor himself; what he was like, how long he’d been a “high profile criminal” as he called him, and things like that. I told him all I knew, but he wanted more, so I pulled up more data on the computer for him. Again, time was a factor, so he didn’t get much, but it seemed to be enough.”

“Enough for what? Gsefx, stop beating around the bush and tell me what the hell is going on!”

“Ricnor isn’t the boss. At least not the ultimate boss. He’s working for someone and I think I know who that someone is. That’s where we’re headed now.”

“Terrific,” said Henry, “and just what am I supposed to do when we get there?”

“You’re going to help me find out if he is, in fact, the one responsible for kidnapping my wife.”

Alcorn struggled to break free from the hideous creatures who held him tight as they carried him out of Ricnor’s main hall.

“Let go of me, you ugly bastards,” he screamed at them, knowing his efforts would be of no use. There was no possible escape from the vice-like grip with which he and Theo were being held. Nor was he actually trying to escape. Not yet anyway. But he needed to keep up appearances, and, truth be told, it made him feel somehow more valiant to struggle, like he and his son might actually pull this rescue mission off somehow.

The very fact that they were still alive meant things were going better than any of them could have hoped, and that the plan was still intact. It also meant that things were only going to get more dangerous from here. They were no longer safe from Ricnor’s weapons, which Gsefx had previously inoculated them from somehow, and Alcorn figured the best way to stay out of the line of fire was to act like the primitive beings this rabble believed them to be. That meant playing it to the hilt.

I just wish Theo could get the hang of it,
he thought, when he was able to glance ahead and see that his son was struggling all right, but he wasn’t being nearly vocal enough.
Apparently, he saves his verbal outbursts for family squabbles.

“You bastards will be sorry you ever tangled with me,” said Alcorn, with a sudden, renewed sense of vigor.

“I like this one,” said a voice in the crowd that followed his captors, “he has spirit. He will be fun to kill.”

“Too bad we have to wait!” said another voice.

“Who says you have to wait,” said Alcorn, egging them on, “put me down and I’ll show you how much fun it will be.”

The crowd roared at that and several hands, claws, and other assorted appendages grabbed at him, only to be beaten back by those who carried him.

“ENOUGH!” Came a voice from above. A loud, commanding voice. A voice that silenced the crowd at once. “I said the prisoners would not be harmed,” said Ricnor looking down on his gang, “and they won’t be. Now, unless I’m mistaken, the rest of you have work to do. I suggest you get to it.”

The crowd dispersed immediately, and the guards carrying Alcorn and Theo continued on their way.

“Too bad,” said Alcorn, in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone, including Ricnor, “it was just starting to get interesting around here.”

There was no response, no sound other than the shuffling noise of Ricnor’s dispersing troops and the tromp of the guard’s boots as they marched on, carrying Alcorn and his son to their cells. He hoped they would end up somewhere close to where Gsefx’s wife was being held.