Your Truth is Out There (Find Your Truth Book 1) (29 page)

Alcorn continued struggling, but less enthusiastically. Now that the audience was gone, it seemed somehow less worthwhile, although he was certain Ricnor was still watching from his perch up above.

A few minutes later, the guards stopped and Alcorn looked ahead to Theo’s entourage. They had stopped as well, in front of a large, iron-looking door, which one of them was now unlocking. Once the door was open, they threw Theo into the room without a word. He heard Theo yelp in pain when he hit the floor, but Alcorn had no time to object, as he was moved into position and thrown in on top of his son before he knew what had happened.

“Ooof … oh my God!” he heard Theo yell. “Get off of me, Dad, you’re smashing my leg!”

“For the love of … I’m trying Theo,” he replied. “I’m not exactly in the best position …”

Alcorn was interrupted by the sight of the most stunning female he’d ever laid eyes on before, and that included his beloved Janny, although he would certainly never admit such a thing to her. The creature before him had emerald green skin that was perfection itself and her black, silken hair glistened like water in the moonlight, even in the low light of the prison cell. As for her eyes, Alcorn could find no words to describe them.

As it turned out, he didn’t need any words, because while he was lost in wonder at the sight of her, Theo found the energy to clear himself of his father’s weight, knocking Alcorn onto his backside in the process.

“For crying out loud, Dad,” said the boy hotly, “grow up, will ya, you’re married!”

The green-skinned beauty laughed at Alcorn as he lay awkwardly on the floor of the cell, and as quickly as it had taken hold of him, her spell was broken.

“Okay, okay, I deserved that, I suppose,” said Alcorn as he pushed himself to his feet. “Don’t worry, Theo, she’s married too.”

He held his hand out to the lady.

“Lhvunsa, I presume?”

“Why yes,” she said. “How did you know my name? You must know Gsefx!”

“Yes, ma’am, as a matter of fact, I’ve just come …”

“Just come from locking him up on Earth, or worse, I presume,” said a nasty whine of a voice from the shadows on the other side of the small cell. “Probably experimenting on him as we speak.”

“Qilzar! That’s no way to speak to someone who has information about my husband.”

“My dear Lhvunsa,” said the voice, not bothering to come forward from the shadows. “I never forget a face. I only saw it briefly as we flew by, but it’s one I won’t forget. This is the Earthling who was trying to capture Gsefx when we flew by and rescued him. He was leading their militia. He was the one who began shooting at us as we flew away.”

Alcorn walked over and examined the thin, chalky-gray being looking back at him with venom spewing from his eyes.

“Qilzar? Yes, Gsefx told me of you as well. In fact, he asked me to give you a message.”

“Indeed,” said Qilzar, “was that before, during, or after you tortured him?”

Alcorn resisted the urge to look away in shame for the things he might have done, probably would have done, if things had gone differently that afternoon. An afternoon that now seemed so long ago. Instead, he held Qilzar’s eyes with his own.

“I’m afraid you have it wrong, sir,” he said. “As wrong as I was about Gsefx. As for shooting at you as you flew by, well, I was just doing my job.”

Alcorn hesitated for a moment, then looked around to include Gsefx’s wife in what he needed to say next.

“But doing my job doesn’t justify everything,” he said raising his hands in a sign of surrender. “I’ve been wrong about a lot of things in my life.” He glanced at Theo. “A lot of things. It took your husband, ma’am, and a man named Henry, a fellow Earthling, to get me to start looking at things differently.”

He paused again, looking at Qilzar first, then Lhvunsa.

“For my part in what happened to Gsefx when he came to Earth, I offer my sincerest apologies, and I offer my services in this current situation as a token of my good faith.”

“Wait,” said Qilzar.

“I understand that it will take more than just a few words to convince you of my …”

“That’s not it,” said Qilzar, interrupting the General, “although, since you ask, no, I’m not convinced.” He pointed to the translator around Alcorn’s neck. “What’s that?”

“This? It’s a translator. Gsefx gave it to me, which, I might add, should be proof enough that we’re working together and not …”

“Oh, by the Gods,” said Qilzar, “would you please stop talking and listen to me.”

Alcorn went silent.

“Did they try to take it from you?” asked Qilzar.

“Who?”

“Who else? Ricnor or his guards?”

“No.”

“Did they search you?”

“No, come to think of it, they didn’t, but I see what you’re getting at,” said Alcorn looking around the cell, focusing particularly on the ceiling. He turned and shook his finger slowly at Qilzar. “Very good, Et Qilzar. Again, I apologize. I’m truly living up to the primitive reputation of my people.”

“Dad, what are you talking about?” asked Theo, clearly confused. “And what are you looking for?”

Alcorn continued looking around at the ceiling and the corners, as he answered his son.

“I’m talking, Theo, about your old man trying too hard to be some damn superhero, and not paying enough attention to the basic tenets of good soldiering. As our good friend Qilzar has just pointed out to us, we’re being watched and listened to, and I’m currently looking for the camera.”

Lhvunsa gasped.

“What? He’s been watching us this whole time? How can you be sure?”

“If he’s not watching himself, he’s having someone else do it,” said Alcorn. “That’s what I would be doing if I were in his place.” He stopped searching for the camera and grabbed the translator that hung around his neck and looked at Lhvunsa. “Why else would he let me keep this, unless he wanted to hear what we had to talk about?”

“I’m afraid he’s right,” said Qilzar as Alcorn resumed his search for the hidden camera. “It’s very likely that Ricnor has heard every word we’ve said since we’ve been in here.”

“Then he knows that we know,” said Lhvunsa.

“What do you mean he knows that you know?” asked Alcorn. “What do you know?”

“I guess it doesn’t matter if we talk about it now,” said Lhvunsa, “since he’s already seen and heard us talk about it before. We believe that Ricnor reports to someone else and we think we know who it is.”

“That’s funny,” said Theo, “so do we.”

“Theo!” said Alcorn, moving quickly to cover his son’s mouth. “Not another word!”

Alcorn looked around at everyone in the cell.

“Not another word from anyone.”

Ricnor walked through the room examining each of the prisoners as they stood or sat silently looking back and forth at one another; all four afraid to speak. First Qilzar, the Dremin, who had recently—and quite inconveniently—found his conscience, then Lhvunsa, the accountant’s wife, and finally the two Earthlings, who were far more entertaining than he’d thought a primitive could be.

“I don’t think we’re going to get anything else out of ‘em boss,” said a voice from beyond the room.

“For once in your life, Gruleg, I believe you are correct,” said Ricnor with an uncharacteristically pleasant smile as he stopped directly in front of Alcorn. “But I have all I need. This one—the one in uniform—thinks he's clever, and in comparison to the rest of his primitive species, he probably is. Even so, he was much too careless and gave away more than he realized.”

“What was that, Boss?”

“Nothing that concerns you, Gruleg. Shut down the recording, it’s no longer necessary.”

“Yes Boss.”

The cell and its prisoners disappeared and Ricnor stood in an empty, black-walled room. The narrow strip of light that encircled the room near the top of the wall and had, moments before, generated the holographic image of the prison cell, gave off a pale blue glow as it cooled down.

“Go and join the others, Gruleg,” said Ricnor. “You’ve done well and you will be rewarded.”

Gruleg bowed low and left the room without speaking. Ricnor waited until he was gone, then departed the room by a different exit, one known only to him. He walked down a short hallway, turned left, walked exactly six paces, then stopped and looked around to ensure he was alone. He was about to make contact with the Master again, and, as always, secrecy was his utmost concern. This time perhaps even more so, now that he had a lead on who the mysterious Master might actually be.

Convinced of his privacy, he reached out with his left hand and pressed a small, barely discernible contact on the wall. A door appeared that hadn’t been there a moment before. Ricnor opened it, walked into the room, and secured it behind him. He wasted no time in punching the Master’s code into the vidcon and pressing the “Connect” button. Following their usual procedure, it could be anywhere between a few ebyts and several sars before the Master called him back.

While he waited, he contemplated the possibilities of knowing the identity of the one who’d been pulling his strings for so long. Granted, he’d prospered mightily under the Master’s command, and his reputation throughout the galaxy had become almost legendary. The Ricnor Gang had become the most powerful criminal force in the galaxy. Powerful enough that the GCP didn’t bother messing in his business. But, while Ricnor received the credit and glory, it had been the Master’s doing all along. It was high time Ricnor stood on his own. He’d learned a lot from the Master, but now it was time to get out from under his tutelage, and his thumb. He never liked submitting to anyone, especially the way Master had blackmailed him into doing so. Now he finally had the chance to get his freedom back.

Beyond that, however, there was a more practical reason to do away with the Master. That blasted accountant, Gsefx, along with his family and friends, including the Earthlings, seemed to have more insight into the Master and his doings than he ever did. And, more importantly, Gsefx was on his way to the Master right now. If, by chance, he was successful in exposing the Master, that could lead them right back to Ricnor and all of his operations.

Still, Ricnor was having difficulty making sense of it all. The Master was smarter than this. He’d proven that many times over. There was simply no way this nobody of an accountant and his rag-tag crew could have come up with all of this on their own so quickly. Unless they were wrong. Or, unless they only knew what the Master wanted them to know. Perhaps he was baiting them, leading them into a trap. If that were the case, Ricnor had best be careful himself. He’d seen firsthand what happened to victims of the Master’s traps. If this was indeed one, he had to ensure he stayed clear.

A light flashed on the vidcon; the Master was prompt this time. Ricnor bowed his head and answered.

“Master,” he said.

“What is it, Ricnor?” asked the Master, the digital manipulator unable to hide the irritation in his voice. “I don’t have time to hold your hand any longer on this job—you’re going to have to figure things out on your own this time.”

“Of course, Master,” said Ricnor, fighting down the words he longed to tell the Master, opting instead to keep his cool and wait to see how this all played out. “I simply wanted to warn you that Gsefx slipped away from his guards and is on his way to Galacticount headquarters now. Apparently someone has convinced him that I answer to someone, and he believes he knows who.”

“I see,” said the Master, his electronic voice conveying a much different tone than before. “And who does he think I am, Ricnor?”

“That I do not know, my Master.”

“Nor would you tell me if you did. Of that much I am certain. No matter. What Gsefx knows, or thinks he knows, is of little concern. How long ago did he leave for Galacticount?”

“I cannot say for certain, Master. His guards returned just over a sar ago, and he’d escaped from them at least two sars prior, perhaps longer.”

“Incompetent clelchin fodder. They should be disintegrated for their failure!”

“It has already been taken care of, my Master.”

“Well, at least you’ve done one thing right. What about the paintings? I suppose Gsefx still has them as well?”

“Not all of them, Master. He …”

Before Ricnor could finish, the vidcon went dead and darkness filled the room.

“Master …? Are you there …? Master …? By the Gods!”

Ricnor was cut off again by the sound of weapons fire and shouting throughout the compound.

“We’re under attack,” said Ricnor as he stood up and felt his way toward the door. “Who in the galaxy would be so bold?”

He carried no weapon other than his hand spike, but it was all he needed. The spike was made of brushed metal, shaped into a long, thin cone that reached a razor sharp point at the end. The handle was made of bone, some say of one of his earliest victims, and near the top was a button that, when pressed, released several miniature blades along the length of the spike itself. Ricnor touched the bone-handle reassuringly, but left it sheathed.

Power was restored as he reached the door and light returned to the room. He pressed the contact and the door opened, but as he stepped into the hallway, the weapon blasts and shouting abruptly stopped, and everything went eerily quiet.

Ricnor moved carefully down the corridor toward the main areas of the compound—his compound—listening for any sound or movement, but hearing none. He decided to work his way to the dining hall; it was the closest room and would be the most heavily populated right about now. He moved slow and steadily, being careful to not make a sound.

When he finally arrived at the dining hall, he was dismayed at what he found. Everyone was down on the floor, dead, with their weapons flung everywhere. What in the galaxy had happened? If they were attacked, where were the attackers? And if they were dead, where was the blood? He reached down and checked the pulse of one closest to him, Jelnit was her name. She was alive, but unconscious.

“Wake up,” he said, shaking her limp body. “Wake up I said!”

“They’re not getting up anytime soon, Ricnor,” said a voice from the other side of the room.