Your Truth is Out There (Find Your Truth Book 1) (38 page)

Gsefx started to speak, but Lhvunsa silenced him with a gentle, green finger to his lips.

“Please, let me finish. Planvc would have never been a suspect in my mind, had I been given a thousand turns to consider all of the possibilities. But looking back in hindsight, it does make a certain kind of sense. Gsefx, even though you have chosen not to see it, Planvc has a jealous streak within him and you have certain innate abilities he will never possess. I can see how that would send him spiraling in the direction it did.”

Lhvunsa put her arms around her husband.

“I know you’re upset, my love, but there's also another possibility for his actions that you may not want to consider. Even so, we cannot discount anything at this point.”

“What does that mean?” asked Gsefx, pulling away from her embrace.

“I know this sounds prejudiced, but Planvc is originally from the Nerrill Galaxy, which has never been on what we’d consider friendly terms with the Galactic Community.”

“Oh, by the Gods, Lhvunsa, don’t tell me you think this is politically motivated, because it’s not. Planvc is a criminal, plain and simple, and he betrayed both of us.”

Lhvunsa started to respond, but Gsefx raised his hand to stop her. Clearly she'd hit a sensitive point. If Planvc's motives were political, then he'd been deceiving Gsefx from the very beginning, and that would be more difficult to accept than any mere betrayal. Her husband turned away from her to look out the window. After some time, Lhvunsa reached over and squeezed his arm.

“Gsefx, tell me what you’re thinking …”

He turned to face her.

“What abilities?” he asked.

“What? What do you mean?”

“You said I had certain ‘innate abilities.’ What does that mean?”

Lhvunsa smiled at her husband and squeezed his arm again.

“One of your great charms, my love, is your naiveté, although I wouldn’t classify that, specifically, as an ability.”

“What does that mean, exactly?”

“It means that you don’t even see how amazing you truly are,” she said as she leaned over and kissed him.

“Why don’t you enlighten me,” said Gsefx, his face as serious as she’d ever seen him. She could tell he wasn’t angry with her, but he wasn’t exactly seeing the lighter side of it as she was.

Lhvunsa removed her hands and sat back in her chair.

“The last several rotations, we’ve both experienced some pretty extreme circumstances, wouldn’t you agree?” she asked.

“Yes,” said Gsefx with a slight nod of his head.

“In my case,” continued Lhvunsa, “I’ve spent them with three individuals who would follow you anywhere and do anything you asked of them, just because you are who you are. Gsefx, you are a natural leader who gains the trust of others with barely more than a word or two. Moreover, you are brilliant in ways most others can’t even fathom. You’re able to look at something, hear something, or read about something and you automatically understand it.”

“That’s not true, I don’t understand everything that easily. And that whole leadership thing isn’t true at all. You’re just over-exaggerating because you love me.”

Lhvunsa frowned and looked away.

“I do love you, my darling,” she said when she turned back to face him, “but when have you ever known me to over-exaggerate? Stop. Don’t answer, I’m not finished. Gsefx, think about it. Look back there at General Alcorn and Henry. Do you think they’d be here at all if they weren’t ready to follow wherever you lead? What about Theo, Qilzar, or even Xtlar? Gsefx, they are all with you. Just think about that. And while you’re at it, think about what you’ve accomplished over the past several rotations. You stood up to the galaxy’s most dangerous criminal and won. Gsefx, you took down his whole organization. You did that.”

“I had some help. Besides, I was just trying to rescue my wife and take care of my family.”

“Yes, you had help, but it was your plan, Gsefx. You stood up to Ricnor, and using your intellect and leadership abilities, you beat him. You are our leader, Gsefx, and at some point you have to start believing in yourself the same way everyone around you believes in you.”

Gsefx didn’t answer, but looked back out the window.

“It’s a lot to think about,” he said finally.

“I know it is, my darling.”

Now is as good a time as any, I suppose,
she thought, taking a deep breath to steel herself for what she had to do next.

“Gsefx, as much as I hate to add more to the list of things for you to deal with, there’s one more thing we need to discuss …”

Lhvunsa was interrupted by an incoming call on the vidcon.

“I don’t recognize that number, do you?” she asked.

“No.” he said. “Sit back away from the screen.”

Lhvunsa moved back and Gsefx answered the call. Ricnor’s image appeared on the screen.

“Ahhh … my friend, the Accountant,” he said, being sure to show all of his teeth in the process. “It’s good to see you again. I believe we still have some unfinished business.”

“Yes, I believe our business is unfinished,” said Gsefx. “You have half of my paintings and I want them back.”

“Half of your paintings? I see you’re still misinterpreting things, as you’ve been doing from the start. But, before we go much further, is General Alcorn with you? I believe he might be interested in what we have to say to one another.”

“I’m here,” said Alcorn, who’d come up from behind without Lhvunsa noticing. “What do you want?”

“It’s not what I want, General,” said Ricnor, “it’s what you want …”

He stepped out of view of the vidcon. When he came back, he wasn’t alone. He had a female hostage and was holding his spike to her throat.

“Janny!” cried Alcorn.

“It’s very simple, really,” said Ricnor. “I tried it once with the accountant, and that didn’t work out so well. So, we’re going to try this again. You bring the other half of the paintings and I’ll give you your wife back, General. An effortless exchange. We each get what we want and then we’ll go our separate ways.”

Gsefx started to say something, but Alcorn stopped him.

“When and where?” he said.

“Dolnarma. In three sars.”

“Wait,” said Gsefx. “I don’t trust your calculations. I’m checking the distance.”

“As you wish,” said Ricnor.

Lhvunsa was already calculating the time it would take to reach Dolnarma.

“We can be there in two-and-a-half,” she said.

“We’ll be there,” said Gsefx.

“Call when you get within thirty ebyts and I’ll give you instructions on how to reach the exchange location.”

Ricnor disconnected before Alcorn could talk to Janny, or get any further information from him.

Lhvunsa squeezed Gsefx’s hand and nodded to him in confirmation when he looked her way.

Gsefx stood up and took the General by the arm.

“I promise you, General, we will get her back safely,” he said.

“Thank you, Gsefx, I appreciate it, but it’s not necessary …”

“General, there’s no time for discussion. Henry, go and get Qilzar and Theo. We’ll connect the vehicles and make ready to go. Quickly now, we’ve no time to waste.”

In the back of his mind, it had always been one of Alcorn’s greatest fears that someone would endanger his family, and then attempt to use them to compromise his position. His fear of this happening increased proportionately with his climb up through the ranks. His only miscalculation was in assuming the coward behind such an act would actually be from somewhere on planet Earth.

Janny.

She had always been his greatest strength. Whenever he needed someone to turn to, to lean on, or more often than not, someone to stand up to him and tell him when he was wrong, she was the one who was always there for him. She was the strength behind the four stars on his shoulders.

Now, in this critical moment, he would not allow her to become his weakness—for her sake, not for his. She would never be able to bear it, knowing that she caused his downfall, even if it were beyond her control, as it was now. No, for her sake, he couldn’t relent, nor let his guard down, not even for a second. But there was someone else to think about. He and Janny weren’t the only family members involved.

“General, may I have a word with you?” It was Lhvunsa. He was so deep in his thoughts he hadn’t heard her approach.

“Of course,” he said, as she took the seat next to him. “What’s on your mind?”

“Reconciliation, General, reconciliation between you and your son.”

Alcorn looked at Lhvunsa, then looked away.

“Yeah, after what you said back at Ricnor’s headquarters, I kinda thought that might be the case. You wanna hear something funny? I’ve been thinking about it too.”

“That’s wonderful,” said Lhvunsa. “So you’ll talk to Theo, then?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Alcorn sighed. It was the sigh of a man carrying a heavy load, one he’d carried for far too long a time, but couldn’t yet put down. He looked back at Lhvunsa, even though the sight of her expectations pained him even more.

“There’s too much you don’t understand, Lhvunsa. I’ve caused too much pain and resentment in Theo for one conversation to magically make it all better.”

“You’re wrong about that General,” said the green-skinned beauty. “I may not understand everything, but I do know that much.”

Alcorn shook his head.

“You may be right, but even so, it wouldn’t matter. Janny’s kidnapping is my fault. Whether it was Ricnor or someone on Earth, it was bound to happen at some point and when it did, it was always going to be my fault. But that’s not the worst of it. What I have to do next is something Theo will never forgive me for. It’s better he think badly of me now, then to think well of me, possibly even forgive me, and then have it all ripped away.”

Lhvunsa nodded her head slowly, then without a word, stood up and started to walk away. Alcorn turned back to his thoughts and didn’t notice when she turned right back around and was now standing right next to him. She bent over and spoke into his ear in a voice as soft as it was scornful.

“You may be right about some things, General,” she said, “but here’s something you don’t know. Something you can’t know, and that’s what it feels like to have Ricnor squeezing you so tight with one arm that you can barely breathe, while he’s holding that spike of his at your throat with the other. All the while, using you to threaten the people you love into doing things they otherwise wouldn’t even consider. That’s what your Janny is feeling right now, General. That’s what I know.”

Alcorn turned around to look at the striking female, whose face was inches from his own. Her face a frozen glare, daring him to challenge her. Physically, she looked nothing like the woman he loved, but he clearly recognized his wife in the scolding he’d just received. He also recognized when he was on the wrong side of a losing argument.

“Oh for love of God,” he said, “sit down before you make a scene and Theo sees you.”

“If you think that’s making a scene,” said Lhvunsa, “you have no idea what I’m capable of, General.”

“Of that, I have no doubt,” said Alcorn, his face a full-on frown. He looked away for a moment, then turned back to Lhvunsa, this time examining her much more closely, as if he were trying to analyze her right down to her DNA.

“What in the galaxy are you looking at?” she asked, even more irritation in her voice.

“I’m trying to figure out whether or not you’re really a non-terrestrial,” said Alcorn, “because you sound an awful lot like a certain Earth woman I’m married to.”

Lhvunsa didn’t flinch, nor even hesitate.

“I don’t care what you think of me, General, nor do I care about all that has gone on between you and Theo. What I do care about is what your wife is going to see and feel when we show up to face Ricnor. Will she see a father and son divided or united? As someone who has been where she is now, I promise you, it will make all the difference.” She stood up, as if to leave, but looked at him with eyes that pierced straight into his soul. “Now, go and talk to your son.”

“Is that an order, ma’am?”

“General, I’m not sure whether or not you noticed just how good my English is …”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I have,” said Alcorn. “But what does that have to do with anything?”

“In order to properly speak a language, one must understand the culture in which it’s spoken. To that end, I’ve studied your culture as well as your language, and in so doing, I found that when a woman gives a man a directive, such as I’ve just given you, there are only two words that are considered to be an acceptable answer.”

“I’m all ears,” said the General.

“I believe the response you’re looking for General, is ‘Yes, dear.’”

Alcorn laughed out loud in spite of himself and the horrific situation he and his family were in.

He stood up and bowed deeply to the lady with three arms and green skin who, despite their obvious physical differences, still, somehow, reminded him of his beloved Janny.

“Yes, dear,” he said, with a smile.

As Lhvunsa made her way back to her husband’s side, Alcorn straightened back up and watched, catching Gsefx watching him. Alcorn could feel the empathy radiating from the gaze of the being he’d given his allegiance to. Gsefx knew what he was going through because he’d experienced it himself. Alcorn silently nodded his acknowledgement, then turned to find his son.

Theo was as far back in the corner of the ship as you could get, hunched over with his back to everyone. Alcorn didn't acknowledge Henry and Qilzar as he made his way past them, but instead kept his gaze focused straight ahead. He overheard Henry, who was now wearing the translator, tell the Dremin that the General and his son needed some privacy. Apparently the gulf between he and Theo was more obvious than he thought. Even so, he was grateful to Henry for the consideration.

He stood and looked at Theo for a minute, his heart beating so fast he felt it might explode from his chest at any moment. A part of him hoped it would and save him from what he knew he had to do. Knowing all too well that’s not how life worked, he finally moved forward and sat down next to his son. There was no acknowledgement. No sign that Theo even knew he was there.