Dark Vengeance (10 page)

“It’s quite odd, Captain Tarn. There have been no telltale signatures from the biometrics.”

“And the biometrics are the same ones used in the intruder alert system, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Has the intruder alert system been put back on line?”

“No, it is still giving false indications.”

“What if it’s not, Captain? What if there is an alien onboard who is not registered with the system?” I suggested.

“We have been unable to make sense of those alarms, Captain Tarn. There is no logical pattern to them. We have to assume they are erroneous.”

“What will you do now?” asked R.J.

“The primary goal will be to reach Enuro as planned so that we can get help. Second to that, we will keep investigating to try to understand what has been happening here. Gentlemen, I suggest you continue your covert investigation. You might try contacting our Tagon guest during the early morning hours. I understand he and his aides are most active then. Be quite cautious in approaching them. They tend to view visitors as potential opportunities, if you know what I mean. Beyond that, we will release the story that Ambassador Beltran’s bodyguard died of natural causes during a particularly aggressive workout in the gym. Ambassador Beltran is all too happy to remain quiet about this matter. We’ll do our best to discreetly replace the video system components and until we do we will have the eyes of special staff members stationed out of sight around the ship. And, I have a gift for you.”

The Captain drew two weapons from his belt. They were the size of pocket watches. He handed them over.

“These have been registered in the system. They will not set off any alarms. I trust you will not misplace them. You should keep them on hand at all times. I’d like you to wear these also.”

He removed two wrist-watch-styled communicators from his left arm and gave them to us. “These use a very secure channel. You’ll be able to reach me regardless of where I am or what I am doing. You’ll find you can also contact each other with them. There is a camera on the side if you need it. Everything transmitted with those is recorded and preserved. We must hope for luck from this point forward, Gentlemen. I’ll be in touch as things warrant it.”

As the door closed behind Captain Mars, R.J. and I looked at each other with expressions of total bewilderment.

“I know what we should do now,” I said.

“What’s that?”

“Concoct a plan to kill Bernard Porre as soon as we get back.”

“You know, I believe he actually thought this trip was a reward of some kind!”

I shook my head. “This thing is beginning to drive me crazy. Why would someone assassinate an ambassador’s bodyguard?”

“Oh, I can think of several reasons.”

“Like what?”

“Well if they wanted to kill Ambassador Beltran they’d probably need to take out the bodyguard first, or perhaps Beltran has an important vote coming up somewhere and this was to persuade him to vote a certain way, or how about this; Beltran really pissed somebody off in the recent past and this was to make him feel exposed, like the end is coming soon.”

“None of which connect to a Sentian jewel thief and a dead security officer.”

R.J. nodded. “I’m just thinking out loud here.”

“You know the intruder alert alarms make me feel like maybe somebody’s aboard ship we don’t know about, but even then connecting the two sets of murders is a bitch,” I said.

“There is something missing, I agree. I need to mull this over a while. Your famous Earth bourbon on the rocks might help.”

“Now how did you know about that?”

“Simple deduction, my dear Watson. I’ll get the glasses and ice like I always do.”

I pulled the bottle that had been stowed away in a side pocket of my duffle bag. R.J. returned with two glasses with ice and held them out. We sat sipping, pleased with ourselves for the idea. When his glass was empty, R.J. plunked it down on the desk and stood.

“I guess I’ll go hit the sack so I’ll be fresh and wide awake for a very early morning visit to the Tagons,” he said.

“Are you sure?”

“I’ll be my accommodating self, but I’ll keep this new wrist camera handy.”

“Remember not to offer to shake hands.”

“I have no intention of donating a single drop.”

“You want me to come along?”

“The guilt finally caught up, did it? Absolutely not. The devious find you too threatening.”

“If it’s any comfort, I promise to be awake and ready.”

“If necessary I shall beat on the walls. They are not noise canceling. I checked.”

He strolled out the adjoining door and left me to my misgivings.

The disconnect between the Sentian jewel thief’s demise and the assassination of the bodyguard was still plaguing me. Perhaps if I sat in the lounge with another drink and watched the Star Seven world go by that might inspire an idea.

The lounge was solemnly empty except for the staff member behind the bar. He had a fixed expression on his face that seemed to impart the idea that his mind was light years away from his job. He was slightly taller than four feet, completely hairless, and had large gray eyes. I took a seat at his bar and he looked at me with surprise as though he shouldn’t be asked to do anything. At the same time, his light brown collar reflected “service staff,” though he seemed too distracted to ask me what I wanted. To make it easy, I pointed to a nearby picture of a drink. He hesitated for a moment, then his eyes focused and he went to work.

“Can I ask your name, Sir?” I said when he placed the frosted glass of clear liquid in front of me.

“It is Dru, Sir. Glad to be of service.” He looked around nervously.

“I guess business has been slow this afternoon.”

“Everyone is staying at home except those who are scheduled.”

“You know, Dru, they say bartenders know everything. What did happen this morning?”

“We were told it was an unfortunate fatality due to natural causes. The poor man overdid his workout, we think.”

I nodded. “Well that can happen.”

Dru turned and began to put away the items used to make my drink. I lifted my glass but was interrupted by someone arriving behind me. A gentle hand on my shoulder made me tighten up but the effect was so pleasant I turned to see. It was Fantasia.

“Is this seat taken?” she asked.

“No, it isn’t,” called Dru.

Fantasia slinked into the seat next to me, her sparkling red gown shifting with the fine curves of her body. A split allowed one leg to escape revealing a delicate pink thigh and knee. I stared slightly too long.

“Wow! So you enjoy the ink of the Sularian squid!”

“What?”

She reached out and snapped a pink fingernail against the rim of my glass making it ring like a bell. The fluid within began to swirl and changed into a deep black. “If you let it sit, it will change back to clear, then you can do it again.”

I let out a deep breath. “Thank you, Fantasia. You arrived just in time.”

“Personally I do not like it. It has a bitter taste.”

“What would you like to drink, and please tell me what is it made of?”

“A glass of Eden’s Sunrise. Made from the fluorescent grapes on… I forget what planet.”

I motioned to Dru. “Two Eden Sunrises.”

He looked at my glass of ink, wondered for a moment and went to work.

“How did I get so lucky that you happened along?”

Fantasia put her hand on mine and smiled. “Maybe I’ve been hoping to catch you alone.”

I suddenly remembered R.J.’s warning about hands free pregnancy. I slipped my hand out from beneath hers and slightly lowered the zipper near the collar of my fight suit as an excuse. Fantasia rested her chin in her hand and smiled mischievously. “Is something worrying you, Adrian?”

“No… no, not at all. I am sometimes awkward about the social customs of other races.”

“You mean because of the many, sometimes odd, methods of proliferation on other planets, for instance?”

“I have made mistakes that I did not mean to make, from time to time.”

“And you’ve even heard that sometimes conception can occur without any actual intimacy at all.”

“Something like that.”

Dru served us two tall glassed containing a glowing pink liquid and took away my black ink. Fantasia sipped and smiled. “And you’ve also been told some species are even physically incapable of romantic intimacy.”

“It was a reliable source.”

“And you believed that?” She laughed and choked a tiny bit.

“Fantasia…”

“Adrian, sometimes a person can receive so many advances from so many species she has to cultivate creative ways to help them find cause for restraint.”

“You’re kidding.”

Fantasia began a slow, low laughter that she seemed barely able to control. I glanced over at her. A tear from laughter escaped one eye. She had placed one delicate hand over her mouth. She wiped the tear and pointed downward and said, “Nothing down there at all,” after which the hand clamped back over the mouth to prevent even more laughter.

There was a stack of napkins on the counter. I grabbed one, snapped it open and handed it to her. She took it and began dabbing the eyes.

“I love seeing someone laugh,” I said. “Even when I’m the brunt of the joke.”

She sobered up instantly. “Oh, no, no, Adrian. I’m so sorry. You don’t understand. It’s complicated.”

“Well, we must be sure my friend never finds out. It could be crushing to the male ego.”

“No, no, Adrian. I just haven’t had the chance to talk to him. I truly like Rowland. When I explain, he’ll understand, believe me.”

“I’d love to hear it.”

“It was a side effect of the genetic engineering that made me. For most people there’s no danger. They are just valued acquaintances. But when I meet someone that I am genuinely attracted to, some type of pheromone is released that sets up an actual connection between me and that person. It’s like having a permanent channel open on a psychic level. Most of the time I can prevent that connection, but occasionally it catches me off guard and when it does I have to do something as quickly as possible to disconnect or it will become a serious problem to the person who has become attached. Can you understand? Do you believe me?”

Dru gave us a nervous glance and disappeared into a back room. There came the sound of glassware clinking.

“So you like R.J. that much, do you?”

“Yes, as an intimate friend who I could confide in and seek advice from, but not as a mate. You do understand?”

“I understand you are a very complex individual, Fantasia. I learned some time ago that I am terrible at first impressions. You’ve just reminded me of that.”

“Oh no. I’ve set you off. I’m so sorry. You must give me a chance to make up for the misunderstanding. We need each other. It’s a terrible situation.”

“Why are you really here, Fantasia?”

“Captain Mars asked me to talk to you about our problem. He thought I would be of use to you and Commander Smith. I interact with the guests more than anyone. He felt I might help with your profiling.”

Dru reemerged and began cleaning.

“Maybe we should move over to a table,” I suggested.

We took seats in the back of the lounge where we could still see others passing by in the concourse.

“What can you tell me about the Tagon guests, Fantasia?”

“They are a very private people. The Lord of Acondra has two servants traveling with him. They seldom leave their staterooms. When they do, it’s usually to visit medical. They keep a special storage of some type of blood substitute there since having any kind of medical waste is not allowed in the rooms. They seem to look at others as opportunities rather than associates. I do not believe they are up during the day. All of their activities take place late at night. I’m probably the only one aboard who has even spoken to them.”

“Doesn’t that scare you?”

“Not at all. My blood is green and contains a component that is toxic to them. I can tell when they get too close to me they don’t like the smell. Usually it’s the other way around, you understand.”

“Our mutual friend is going to try to speak with them tonight.”

“If anyone can, he can. If they invite him in, they will treat him like a revered guest. If they like his smell, they will be hoping for some chance to exchange blood. They will take twice what they give.”

“Would you guess them to be involved in the murders?”

“They are too spooky to know. You can’t tell anything at all about them except what is written.”

“How about Athos, the Golian. Would you suspect him?”

“He seems nice enough. I really don’t know.”

“Okay, how about the delightful Ambassador Sulik and her aid, Ms. Purser.”

“All I know is they are a pain in the ass, if you will forgive my language. They do seem preoccupied with their small arms weapons like they’re afraid of someone or something. I’d keep them on your list.”

We drank and sized each other up for a moment. She was wondering if any level of trust had been regained. I was reaffirming to myself that despite Captain Mars’s confidence in her, I was not as assured.

“I’d like to keep in close contact with you, Fantasia.”

“How close would you like?”

“What’s the best way to track you down?”

She feigned disappointment and held up her left-hand. There was a communication device just like mine on her wrist.

I pushed back my chair and stood. She followed me to the door. We gave Dru a wave and outside the lounge said all the courteous formalities before parting. Back in my stateroom I took a seat at the information console and got set for the long wait for R.J.’s dark visit with people who seemed to have invented the word. I began going through the staff information more carefully looking for any keywords that might point to someone. At the same time, I was playing all the data over and over in my mind, looking closely at the loose ends as well as the overall chronology of it. The assassin had only needed one shot to take out the Sentian, and only one shot to kill Beltran’s body guard, assuming both were done by the same person. It is a grave irony that people who kill for profit can do so with a steady eye.

He came strolling in about 7:00 A.M. He gave me a tired, cheery look, didn’t say a word, went straight to the food dispenser and keyed himself a cup of tea. He plunked down in a nearby chair, sipped and smiled.

“Well, you don’t look pale or light headed.”

“It was quite pleasurable.”

“So you got a foot in the door?”

“My entire body, actually. They like me!”

“So are they the ones?”

“Highly unlikely. The ship’s lighting is too bright for them. That’s why they never come out. We played a board game where you throw these little bones and the computer moves your piece based on how they come to rest. The entire game is about mysteries. They love mysteries.”

“Did they want your blood?”

“It did come up, but there was no pressure brought to bear when I said not this time.”

“So where does this leave us?”

“I regret to say we are no closer to solving this than we were yesterday. It may be that the two incidents were separate happenings and unrelated. For all we know the Ancient could be the culprit.”

I winced. “The Ancient! You’re losing your mind! Are you sure they didn’t take any blood? She barely has any skin left on her bones. To quote that very old movie you’ve made me watch more than once; she’s mostly dead!”

“Movie I made you watch? Oh yeah, that’s the, “Have fun stormin’ the castle fellas,” movie. How appropriate! I can tell you’re needing sleep since you stayed up all night worrying. Go ahead. I’m wide awake. I’ll cover you.”

“Maybe you should dig up that old movie and watch it again while you wait. You’ll need cheering up.”

“As you wish.”

I awoke to the sound of the front door “bling.” I sat up on the bed still dressed in my flight suit with not a clue as to what time of Star Seven day it was. The timepiece on the night stand read 2:00 P.M. R.J. was at the door letting Captain Mars in. Rubbing my eyes, I got up and stumbled around and bumped into R.J. on his way to the food dispenser. I beat him to the punch. “Coffee, black.”

“What’ll it be, Captain Mars? Excuse my associate’s manners. He’s not awake yet,” declared R.J.

“Nothing, thank you, R.J. I’ll just be a minute here.”

We grouped around the information center. The coffee tasted like a miracle drink, which it was.

“I really don’t have much news,” said the Captain. “Has either of you made any breakthroughs?”

“Nothing concrete,” I replied. “Although my associate managed not to share blood with the Tagons last evening.”

“I do believe we are narrowing things down a bit, Captain. But as Adrian just said, we aren’t in any position to point fingers,” added R.J.

“I am no closer to solving this mess either,” said the Captain. “We will have all video circuits back on line by tomorrow, at least; Engineering, the entire concourse, and the grand gallery. It will be difficult for anyone to avoid the surveillance cameras.”

“How broad a spectrum do your cameras deliver, Captain?” I asked.

“All of the ship’s video network handles the normal light spectrum, the infrared, and several inter-dimensional spectrums as well. We will try to add to that in other ways, as time allows. R.J., what was your impression of the Tagons. Any suspicions?”

“Only that I doubt they are involved, Captain. They seem to be nice people, believe it or not. They don’t consider the murders to be a big deal. Apparently on Tagonia people disappear or meet untimely ends all the time. The Tagons believe it is your own responsibility to protect yourself at all times. Obviously they have the skills to fit the bill, however.”

“Yes, but they have never been a problem on any transport that I know of. They do not seem like assassins for hire to me.”

“We haven’t given up, Captain,” I added. “We’ll hit on something sooner or later. I promise you.”

“It’s nine more days to Enuro. Our flight center is probably starting to wonder why our subspace communications have ceased, but that’s not enough to make them come looking for us. And, there is another issue I need to address later this afternoon. I’m getting too many inquiries about our situation. Many of them border on hysteria. Fantasia and Elachia are being overloaded. Both the staff and quite a few of the guests continue to be too unsettled about all this. I’m going to hold an open meeting in the gallery later today to meet everyone in person and try to allay their fears a little bit. The two of you should be there and if the opportunity arises I hope you will assist me in reassuring everyone in any way you can.” The Captain stood. “If we’re lucky, our assassin has completed his contract and there will be no further violence onboard. At least he’ll be trapped here when they quarantine the ship upon arrival at Enuro. So keep at it, Gentlemen, and I do appreciate your efforts.”

Less than an hour later the notice of the upcoming meeting in the grand gallery popped up on my monitor. I showered and changed into slacks, a gray dress shirt, and sports jacket and met R.J. already waiting outside my door. He had on blue jeans, a blue work shirt and suspenders. His unlit Royal Dutch pipe was in his left-hand. The only thing missing was a beat up straw hat, thankfully.

“He wanted us to appear casual,” said R.J. defensively as I eyed his apparel.

“Except for the pitch fork I thought you might be going to sing ‘New Country Cornflakes.’”

“Let me tell you about corn flakes, my friend.”

“Oh boy.”

And so I had to listen to a rambling dissertation on the evils of processed food all the way to the gallery. It was my own fault.

The crowd was already well formed by the time we arrived. More were still showing up. I was shocked when the Ancient came floating in, her nervous gestures in full swing. She seemed not able to find a comfortable spot. The two staff members assigned to look after her appeared annoyed and exhausted, as usual.

A small platform was brought in. Captain Mars appeared in the crowd and stepped up onto it. The gathering quickly quieted.

“My friends, I am here to assure you we remain at light speeds and are only nine days out from Enuro. All critical systems are working well; I see no reason we will not arrive at Enuro on time.”

Someone bluntly yelled, “What about the deaths, Captain?”

“Yes, yes, we’ve had two unfortunate events aboard, as you all know. But I do not expect any further disruptions. I believe the situation is well in hand. Everyone should try to enjoy the rest of the cruise.”

“What about the last death being a murder, not natural causes like we’ve been led to believe?” someone called out.

“By maritime law I am unable to add to what has already been said about that unfortunate death. The family of the deceased person must be fully informed before anything further can be said. I’m sure you all understand they deserve that kind of privilege and privacy in their loss.”

It was a very talented way of avoiding admitting the death was actually a murder, and the crowd did seem at least partially consoled. Hands were still raised in the crowd by people with questions. As the Captain began to point at one, I noticed a blur of action coming from the concourse. It was my favorite irritants, Ambassador Sulik and her belligerent aid, Ms. Purser. They were late. They were trotting with bursts of outright running trying to join the assembly. It was just my luck they were headed right for me. Before I could make a space to get out of the way, Purser banged into me, tripped on my right foot, and fell into my chest. I caught her, and expected her to regain her feet and begin reprimanding me but instead she started a slow slide down toward the floor so that I had to pull her back up with both hands. As I steadied her back up, her head fell limp to one side. I gently straightened it up to find her eyes closed. She was unconscious.

Others involved in the bumping and shoving were taking a keen interest. Word was spreading. Enough of a distraction had developed that Captain Mars had stopped speaking and was looking our way.

I managed to get one arm under her knees and hoisted her up into my arms. Silence filled the chamber.

“It’s okay,” I called out. “She’s just fainted. She must have run all the way to get here and it was too much. Please resume. We’ll take her over to medical.”

I glanced at R.J. He was wide-eyed for some reason. As we made our way to the medical office, he kept following too closely and stepping on my heel. Purser felt warm and light as a feather in my arms.

At the doctor’s office they had seen us coming. We were hurriedly ushered into the main exam area where I was directed to lay her on the table. “It’s okay, Doc. She just fainted. They were late to the meeting and they ran all the way. It must have been too much for her.”

The Doctor gave me a distrusting stare and unfolded his medical scanner. He ran it up and down Pursers body, gave a big sigh and looked back at us. “This woman did not faint. She’s dead.”

Chapter 7

A grim chaos broke out as they attempted to revive the patient. There was yelling and pushing. Every possible procedure was attempted, each several times. A very angry Doctor Lae finally waved everyone away and stood looking at the corpse as though wondering if he had left anything out. He turned and gave a cold stare at R.J. and I shirking in a corner, watching.

I raised my hands in frustrated defense. “Doc, she passed out right in my arms! What could she have died from?” I pleaded.

“I do not know what caused her death. A complete autopsy will need to be done, and I’m getting pretty tired of doing autopsies on our guests, I don’t mind telling you.”

“Could it have been her heart?”

“I can’t make any speculations like that. It would be sheer guesswork.”

R.J. cut in. “Doctor, in the interest of security, could we ask you to do a quick check for an assassin’s bolt?”

It startled the man. At first he looked offended, but the sincerity in R.J.’s eyes seemed to sober him. He unfolded his medical scanner, tapped in a few entries, and began a slow scan from head to foot.